Field
The disclosure generally relates to the field of travel gear, and more particularly, for enhancing user comfort while traveling.
Description of the Related Art
Millions of economy class travelers have a strong desire to sleep on board a plane. The seat inclination for that category of travel is close to 90 degrees. Without proper neck and head support, only a small percentage of people manage to rest during travel. This same challenge faces people on trains, buses, cars, and even office workers that desire a small nap at their work desk.
Several devices attempt to address this problem. One such device is an U-shaped neck pillow. These pillows have achieved high market penetration despite low effectiveness. The U-shaped pillow only provides marginal lateral neck support, and no frontal head support. The devices are rather bulky and often have to be carried separately, which is inconvenient. Although more portable inflatable U-shaped pillows are available, they are less comfortable and equally ineffective in providing frontal head support. Full neck collars are available for improved head support, but these are even more bulky and restrict ventilation around the neck, inducing perspiration.
Tray inflatable pillows are available for use in situations where a food tray is present. These pillows provide decent support by filling up the space between the passenger and the food tray. They require a long time to inflate, however, and place the user in a precarious position where any movement of the neighboring front seat can disturb the sleep. Accordingly, a portable head supporting device that allows a person to rest in a seated position is desirable for travelers.